Burka, the senior Senator, and the shadow primary
Since I commented on Patricia Kilday Hart's article yesterday, today I'll comment on Paul Burka's May 2005 Texas Monthly article. Burka frames his story as a faux memo from KBH's political political consultants to the Senator herself.

One of the things I love about Texas Monthly is that it is consistently provocative, thought-inducing writing. With that said, I think Burka's piece reads like something written by a member of the mainstream media rather than something written by a GOP political consultant that actually has an intimate sense of Republican primaries.

... most of the statewide officials -- except Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, who may run for governor herself -- have already endorsed Rick Perry. It's a toss-up who's more craven: Perry for asking them this early or them for doing it. Now you're holding up their game of musical chairs, especially in the case of David Dewhurst, the lieutenant governor. He wants to succeed Perry in 2010, but if you beat Perry, he's stuck in his current job for eight more years. So he might opt to run for your Senate seat, leaving his job open and touching off another mad scramble. Congressman Henry Bonilla, of San Antonio, has already said he'll run for the Senate if you don't. Strayhorn and Attorney General Greg Abbott would look at the lite gov's office Dewhurst would be vacating, and railroad commissioner Michael Williams and Texas Supreme Court justice Harriet O'Neill are said to be interested in the AG’s job. Yes, all eyes are on you right now.

It may be craven, but it seems like smart politics to me for Perry to have wrapped up his endorsements. Politicians are generally risk-averse, and so Perry realized that if he asked now, all the statewide officeholders would be likely to endorse him. I can't think of a good reason why Perry shouldn't have wrapped up his endorsements now.

Good shortlist of the musical chairs that will happen if Hutchison runs for governor.

Your job is to exploit the latent "Perry fatigue" among voters, to contrast your vision and leadership with his.

It shouldn't be hard.

Yikes. Any Hutchison consultant who so understates the difficulty that Hutchison will face in beating Perry...well, I think that consultant is probably enticing Hutchison into the race in hopes of the higher fees that come from an expensive, high profile race.
- posted @ 3:11 PM permalink